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A contractor is busier than his superintendents can handle. Production is turning into a bottleneck, and he needs someone to step up fast.

So he picks the obvious choice. A loyal, hardworking carpenter who has been with him for over 10 years.

He had a gut feeling it might not be the right fit. But he needed someone now, and it felt like the natural next step.

Within weeks, the cracks started to show. Missed days, no-shows and a habit of dodging tough conversations with clients and trade partners.

Schedules slid. Quality slipped. Customers got frustrated.

Four months later, he finally pulled the plug.

Breakthrough Academy Coach Matt Balfe sees this story play out all the time. Great field people get promoted because they are reliable and loyal, not because they are wired to lead. And when it goes sideways, it costs more than money. It costs the employee, the owner and the customer.

In this video, Matt breaks down the four signs someone on your crew is actually ready to lead, the honest conversation you need to have before any promotion, and how to build a career path that keeps your best people growing without setting them up to fail.